Schumacher: “I will also honor the last year of my contract with Mercedes”

Michael Schumacher has reiterated that he will undoubtedly honor his third year of contract with Mercedes GP, despite recent rumors of his retiring again at the end of the season.

Stella team principal Ross Brawn said at the European GP that the decision for 2012 is Schumacher's. According to rumors, the German has a clause that would allow him to renounce the last year of his contract.

But on Thursday's British GP, Schumacher declared that his retirement again before the contract expires is out of the question.

“I always had the option to withdraw whenever I wanted,” he explained. “But I aim for a goal in a fixed time. I've always said it's a three-year program, and that's still the case."

Schumacher said he is aware that he has not yet reached the peak of his potential after his return to F1: “I feel good, but you can always improve. In all my 16 years of F1 I have always felt I was constantly developing, perhaps at a slower pace than in previous years. And it's like that now too. It took me a while to get back to my old work rhythms and I imagine it's much easier for me now, but I know that I'm still learning the team's working method and how to adapt the car to my driving style. It's a constant development and I'm certainly not 100% yet, although I can say I'm never 100%."

Schumacher reiterated that he is not too worried about the fact that he has not achieved results up to the best times so far: “You always judge the situation within the limits of the car you have in your hands” he declared. “It's always been like this in the past and it's like this now, you try to maximize what you have available. If you succeed you are satisfied with yourself, otherwise you are not. You continue to work, you know that only through work and constant development will you be able to return to the top as has already happened to me in the past. There's no magic to getting to the front. It's just a matter of time, constant progress, staying motivated and working hard.”